Port leaders explore Pier S as railyard

LONG BEACH -- Officials Monday will discuss the possibility of Pier S as an alternative to BNSF Railway's controversial proposal to build a railyard bordering West Long Beach and Wilmington neighborhoods.

Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Rich Dines said he placed the item on Monday's board agenda at the request of West Long Beach residents who oppose the BNSF project, which rail officials say will allow trucks to load containers and put them on trains closer to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, rather than having trucks travel 24 miles away to the BNSF Hobart Yard.

The proposed 153-acre facility being planned on Port of Los Angeles property is near schools, homes and parks.

"We owe it to the community to do our due diligence," Dines said.

Pier S, an abandoned oil field located on the northeast side of Terminal Island, is the last large undeveloped land in the Port of Long Beach. Port officials are working on the environmental impact report for Pier S, said spokesman Art Wong.

BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said her company has already explored Pier S, which the Port of Long Beach designated for a container terminal or multi-use container storage facility use.

But regardless of its availability, she said, the Pier S site is not long enough to accommodate 4,000-foot, double-ended strip tracks.

"It is likely that the facility would have to have single-ended tracks, which would introduce severe operational constraints as trains would tie up the Terminal Island lead track as they were doubled into and out of the facility," Kent said. "This would result in heavy congestion, potentially reducing the throughput of other Terminal Island facilities, and would require a greater number of locomotive moves, both of which would result in an increase in air emissions. "

Kent said the construction of a large railyard would also require grading to provide level trackage for the rail yard, which would impact remediation efforts to the area's soil and groundwater.

BNSF's vetting is not enough for Dines.

"We need to take a look at it," he said. "The Westside deserves that and the only way to find out is to put our engineers to work on it."

The Harbor Commission meeting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza. Visit polb.com for more.